


Episode Six:  The Fall of the Sword

by keirajo



Series: Transformers: Star Voyager [7]
Category: Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: Action/Adventure, Friendship, Guardian-Ward Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-04
Updated: 2018-07-04
Packaged: 2019-06-05 00:21:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,986
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15158366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/keirajo/pseuds/keirajo
Summary: A ship crashes on Corona.  A Decepticon named Deadlock arrives.Magnus' world is about to change...........AGAIN.





	Episode Six:  The Fall of the Sword

**Author's Note:**

> With this, the five main cast members have all been introduced. All good sentai teams have five members! :D
> 
> Wait, what do you mean there's only four? No, there's definitely FIVE. The fifth has been introduced already, though perhaps not with as much detail as everyone else, yet. *chuckle*

_**Episode Six:  The Fall of the Sword** _

__

 

            A week had passed since Magnus’ stayover at the clinic with his psychologist, as well as Hot Rod’s sleepover study session with his friends.  The two housemates sat down together and talked about _a lot_ of things……..neither of which had ever expected to be talking about, but needed to be brought out into the open.  One of the important things which came out of their conversations was that they agreed to give each other time.

            Magnus agreed that he would try to sort through his feelings and figure out what kind of “love” he had for Hot Rod.   At the same time, Hot Rod agreed not to aggressively push Magnus and wait patiently for whatever decision his guardian may finally make in the end.

            However, things had certainly _changed_ between the two of them.   Hot Rod saw Magnus becoming more awkward when they were together—eating, lounging in the main gather area of the hab block, everything basically!   That made the young flame-colored mech wonder if maybe Blurr had been right after all………that Magnus was _innocent_ and _a virgin_ , despite his age and maturity.   Armed with this bit of potential knowledge in his head, Hot Rod decided he would do his best to try to have patience………and hope for the answer he really wanted.   The growing ache of his awakening array was making him more anxious some days and he hoped he didn’t accidentally snap at Magnus one day when he was aching and longing for an interface.

            “So……….your teacher said that you learn better through physical activity?”  Magnus murmured, as the two of them stood together in the center of the gymnasium.   Blurr was sitting along one of the walls, studying a datapad while waiting for today’s training session to start.   “ _Mmm_.   I believe I can see that.   It certainly would not hurt us to give it a try.  _Blurr!_    Do you have a learning curriculum prepared for us?”  The blue-and-white mech called, glancing over at the younger mech by the wall.

            “Yep!   Got some math ready to go!”  The young blue mech chuckled, hopping to his pedes quickly.  “As I call out formulas and problems, start by repeating them as Magnus spars with you,” Blurr said, making sure to stand far enough back and getting ready to project his voice louder.

            “We’ll go through katas and strikes you know by rote—that way you can listen and respond,” Magnus said firmly, backing into a stance and snapping his facial shield into position.

            Hot Rod nodded, mirroring his guardian’s ready stance.  The two mechs began to move in a well-practiced battle pattern………their pedes following steps fluidly, with servos and arms making contact and strikes.   Meanwhile, Blurr called out math formulas and problems, serving up their answers and how to get to them in full detail.

            The young flame-colored mech repeated _everything_.  Then they began the kata all over again and this time Blurr only gave prompts and waited for Hot Rod to give the answers.   After this, Magnus stopped the current battle pattern and gave them both a short rest.

            “ _Good_.  You’ve proven to understand reading and repetition,” Magnus praised, his vocalizer making a deeper echo to his voice with his facial shield in place.   “Now, let’s see you apply the formulas to solve _new_ problems.  Do not dwell on them………..let the answers flow out of you with the movements of the body.  We’ll move on to a new kata, as well.”

            Hot Rod and Magnus moved easily into the new kata, their steps smooth and fluid—almost like a dance.  Blurr began offering up equations based upon the previous memorization lesson.   Hot Rod just felt _so_ relaxed as he moved in synch with his guardian.   His answers came smoothly, without hesitation.

            “That’s fantastic, Roddy!  You got eight of the ten problems right!”  Blurr said excitedly, hugging his best friend with enthusiasm.

            “You know, Deszaras was a little bit like this,” Magnus said, wistfully, as he remembered his fellow Voyager Class soldiers.   “To some people he came off as slow and uneducated, but if you put him in combat he was an impressive problem-solver!”  The former soldier said, smiling beneath his facial shield.

            “He was action-focused, too?”  Hot Rod asked, curiously.

            “Yes.   He was also the sweetest mech you’d ever meet—he had a very warm Spark,” Magnus responded, snapping back his facial shield so he could smile at the two younger mechs before him.

            “You really miss them, don’t you?”  Blurr asked, softly.

            “Often enough,” Magnus sighed.  “I wonder what happened to the others who’d survived—after I had to leave Cybertron?”  He mused, absently.

            Magnus was just about to tell them a tale from his days in the Voyager Class elite unit, when suddenly there was a massive rumble, a huge boom………..plus a great tremor that shook the ground beneath them.  The three rushed to the entrance of the gym to look outside……..they saw a smoking crater in the field between Magnus’ property and the heart of the city of Lumiere.

            Blurr and Hot Rod were already running to investigate before Magnus could tell them to stop.  As the former soldier ran after them, he tapped his audial and comm-linked Siren to alert them in the main part of the city.

            “It’s a ship!”  Hot Rod gasped, eagerly.

            Magnus peered into the crater and noted it was just a small speeder craft.  It was _not viable_ for any sort of long space distances—so this speeder had to have come from a much larger craft.   But………..how far away was the larger craft?   The old soldier looked up into the sky with worry………….this was a drawback of Corona and it’s element rich atmosphere—you couldn’t see out into the orbit area of the planet.

            Of course, the moment Magnus looked away—up into the sky—the two younger mechs were instantly down in the crater, looking at the speeder.  Hot Rod was shouting something at Blurr, when he suddenly began kicking the top hatch to get it to release.  In a few moments, they pulled a mech……….or a rather bulky femme?......out of the craft.  The stranger was unconscious as the two best friends hauled them out of the crater.

            “ ** _Back!_** ”  Magnus suddenly snarled, snapping his facial shield into place.  “I will _not_ say this again, you two—get behind me _right now_!!”  The former soldier snapped.

            Hot Rod looked as though he wanted to protest, but the seriousness (and anger!) in Magnus’ familiar voice made him think twice about doing so.   As the two younger mechs stood several feet behind Magnus, the old soldier held his left arm out and the shield popped out from its subspace compartment.

            “Up with you, _Decepticon_!”  Magnus snarled, giving the multi-shaded grey mech a soft kick in the side.  “And toss the swords into the crater!”  He commanded.

            The mech……..and Magnus was _sure_ it was a mech now, despite the red vanity markings on the grey frame…….gave a groan and rolled onto his side, struggling tremendously to pull the blades from their x-shape of sheaths on his back out and weakly let them fall over the edge of the crater.

            “Slag…..is there any chance that one of you happens to be a _medic_?   I’m seriously in a whole lot of pain……..” the grey mech groaned, flopping ungainly back onto his aft side.  “Apologies, soldier………..I really _cannot_ get to my pedes at the moment.”

            “Fine, _Decepticon_ ,” Magnus hissed.  “Authorities are on their way and they’ll see to your injuries.   Are you the scout for an oncoming force?”  The white-and-blue mech growled.

            “ _By the Pit_ ……. ** _no_** …….I wrecked my speeder by jury-rigging a small quantum drive engine to it and jumping to the middle of nowhere.  _Nowhere, my aft_ ……….” the stranger moaned.  “My name is _Deadlock_ ……and you, soldier?”  He inquired, looking directly at Magnus and doing his best to avoid looking at the younger mechs behind the soldier—he had a feeling the blue-and-white mech would go crazy-mad if he gave any attention whatsoever to the younger mechs.

            “Magnus,” he responded, firmly.  “And before you even try to ask, I will _not_ reveal which colony you landed on, _Decepticon_.”

            Just about then, Siren and a full complement of officers arrived.  They took Deadlock into custody and Siren remained behind to interview Magnus about the situation.   The former soldier also mentioned to his chief at the precinct how the Decepticon had been armed with two swords, which he’d made the mech drop into the crater with the speeder.   As swords were an illegal weapon on Corona, Magnus felt it would be best for the authorities to deal with it.

            “Mags….what’s a Decepticon?”  Hot Rod asked as he and Blurr both looked at the former soldier questioningly.

 

*      *      *      *      *

 

            Two days later, Magnus was called to the Administrative Offices while Hot Rod was in school.   He had to take a day’s leave of absence from work.   Though the former soldier had only met the leadership trine of Corona less than a handful of times since he came to the world four million years ago—being called before them was very rare and had more significance than Magnus probably knew.

            “Magnus, do you feel that this young newcomer is a threat?”  Metalhawk asked curiously, his gold-and-blue armour gleaming with polish.  It seemed that all three of the trine had polished themselves to shining today, to complete their public relations façade.

            “I…… _mmm_.   The datamails that Sentinel sent me said that all Decepticons were a threat and this newcomer wears the crowned-mask mark that the Decepticons claim as their brand,” Magnus answered, seriously, his hands clasped behind his back as he looked up to the trine on their raised platform.   “I do not know this stranger personally, so I can only gauge by what I’ve been told about the Decepticons.”

            “This one, he goes by the designation of Deadlock.  He claims he is just on the cusp of his first million years and has defected from the Decepticons,” the white-and-red mech known as Landmine said.   “He was _born and raised_ into the Decepticons at Fortress.”

            “To me, it seems possible he is honest about his desire to defect,” Waverider added.  “He cannot help that he was born into Decepticon servitude.  I am only curious to know why he’s chosen to defect _now_ after about a million years,” the blue-and-silver mech continued.

            “He refuses to speak of his reasons.  However, he has chosen to share with us some very disturbing news,” Landmine sighed, bowing his head and shuttering his optics.   “Their leader, _this Megatron_ —he has constructed a space-faring vessel and he is looking to find the colonies as he tries to make his way back to Cybertron.”

            Magnus pondered that for a moment.  So………the gladiator leader of the terrorist group, and likely the majority of his forces, had been stuck on Fortress when the spacebridge on Cybertron had been deactivated.   Cybertron may have had some small sort of peace or rebuilding in that time, but now the terrorist leader was on his way back to Cybertron and targeting the colonies in his path back.

            “This means possibly all the colonies are in danger,” Magnus said, a firm tone in his voice—even though his Spark was whirling fast in his chest with anxiety all through him.  Sentinel Prime’s words about protecting Corona echoed in his mind.

            “Deadlock says that Megatron does not have the GPS coordinates for any of the colonies beyond Fortress.  And he has Cybertron’s coordinates,” Metalhawk said, waving a hand.  “I believe he may be gambling on that the foundation of the colonies follows a pattern……….and as Fortress was the last one founded, he is guessing that he’ll find most of the colonies as he works his way back to Cybertron.”

            “Why would he not simply return to Cybertron—then reverse the course plotting to find the colonies _afterwards_?”  Magnus inquired, puzzled.

            “Deadlock said resources are slim on Fortress.  My guess is that to fuel his war, he wants to plunder their Energon sources,” Metalhawk answered, gazing serenely down at Magnus.  “I also theorize that he wants to supplement his own forces.”

            Magnus nodded at that………it made perfect sense if Fortress had limited resources.  And how many had gotten “exiled” with Megatron on Fortress when the spacebridge with Cybertron was deactivated.   He clearly supplemented what he had with the new births on Fortress—however many hotspots had flared in the two million or so years that they’d been there.   It could not have been many, as it was a rough and seemingly barren world that would challenge one and test their survival skills.   They may have also impressed a portion of Fortress’ limited number of original colonists under Solomus Prime…………Magnus couldn’t think that Megatron could win them all over and had likely killed off all who didn’t agree with his ideals.    Someone waging a war on the scale that Megatron was, under the direction of the vicious Liege Maximo, they would need plenty of resources—both in Energon _and_ troops.

            “Magnus, we brought you here today to inform you of our decision to give this young mech a chance,” Waverider said, firmly, gazing down at Magnus.  “We are going to remand him to _your custody,_ as you have the skills to fight him should it become necessary—plus you have a spare room in your hab block.”

            Magnus started to protest, but realized it would be absolutely futile to do so.  He was very worried about having a Decepticon living with him and Hot Rod.

            “Deadlock is being assigned community service with your precinct, therefore he will be accompanying you to-and-from work every day,” Landmine added, nodding down at Magnus.

            “Plus, Magnus……….we _have_ something for you,” Metalhawk responded, smiling down at the former soldier.  He motioned to their assistant, Cloudburst, who was holding a large carrying case in his two arms.  “Sentinel Prime sent several things through the spacebridge with Nitro, before they shut it down.   This special case has a compression field within its interior—inside of the case is your upgraded Voyager Armour.   We were also given a warning to forward on to you— _don’t_ remove it from the case until you are _absolutely certain_ that you need it.  Likely because you’ll never get it back inside the case if you do,” the older mech chuckled wryly.

            Magnus took the case from Cloudburst with a twinge of anxiety and ache of longing in his spinning Spark.   It only served to reinforce his Prime’s message—the armour was only to be used if it came time for him to protect the world of Corona, as Sentinel Prime had wished him to do.

            “Before I leave, honored leaders……..is there anything in particular I should do for the Decepticon?”  Magnus asked, softly, gazing up at the trine.

            “First, it would be kind of you to call him by his designation— _Deadlock_ ,” Landmine chuckled, warmly.  “Second, you will need to pick him up from the Full Frame Clinic here in Lumiere.  His armour was ill-fitting and, as we could understand from him, there were no dedicated Frame Techs on Fortress.  He’s been overhauled and is probably sensitive to touch and pain at the moment.”

            “He’ll likely want to sleep once you take him home,” Metalhawk added with a warm smile.  “You raised a sparkling, so you know how _this_ goes.”

            “And _try_ to be kind to him,” Waverider said, folding his hands before him.  “It’s clear he ran away from the Decepticons for a reason.  If you’re kind to him, he may open up and tell you _why_.”

            “Make sure that Hot Rod doesn’t accidentally provoke him.  We’ve all heard how energetic your young ward is,” Metalhawk added with a soft laugh.

 

*      *      *      *      *

 

            It was difficult to explain to Hot Rod that Deadlock would be staying with them for a while.   Difficult only in that Hot Rod was _extremely excited_ by the idea of the stranger from another world living with them—and knowing how much the younger mech loved flirting with danger, it didn’t actually surprise Magnus.  He had already explained everything he knew about the Decepticons to Hot Rod and Blurr a couple days ago.

            “Don’t bring it up, unless _he_ does so first.  I was told that the reason he ran away may be painful, so _don’t_ pry into his past or ask about the Decepticons,” Magnus warned, gently.

            “Got it, Mags………I’m gonna be his _friend_!”  Hot Rod said, brightly.

            “For a few days, he’ll be aching and sore.  Since he’d never been given a properly-fitted frame and armour, they had to overhaul him from the derma up.  I know you probably remember how sensitive _you_ were when they completed your lifetime frame,” Magnus said, softly.  “He was unconscious when I brought him home, so he may well be disoriented when he wakes up, too.”

            “ _Got it!_   I bet he’ll be _starving_ ………..we should have high-grade Energon with dinner tonight!”  Hot Rod said, his field rippling with happiness and excitement.   “I’ll make our favorite energy-booster meal……” the younger mech chuckled, his steps practically bouncing as he went to the meal preparation room.

            Magnus began reading the daily news scripts on his reader tablet when Deadlock finally, hesitantly wandered into the main gathering room.

            “Have a seat, Deadlock,” Magnus said, motioning at one of the chairs in the room around the couch.  “Hot Rod’s making a booster meal tonight, with high-grade to drink.  He’s a very good meal preparer.”

            “ _Ah_.  I see.  Was he one of the young mechs standing behind you on the day I crashed?   I tried _not_ to look at the youths, as I felt you might be very angry if I had,” Deadlock responded, softly.

            “Very wise of you.   I do not have any personal interaction with the current Decepticon group, but I knew the thugs that they were before taking that particular name………..I have _no fond memories_ of their acts of brutality and terroism,” Magnus said softly.

            “Oh, trust me…..I _completely_ understand,” Deadlock said with a wry little smile.  “I think I’ll like this new armour, once I get past the current aching.  I would like to have my glyphs and patterns back, though—this white is far too…….. _white_ ,” he chuckled.

            “Hot Rod goes to a good detail clinic—that’s how he keeps his flame emblems so crisp.  He’s rather _finicky_ about his flames,” Magnus said with a chuckle and a smile.   He struggled against his own instincts not to snap his facial shield up and fight.

            “Is it alright if I speak with him?  You won’t be angry?”  Deadlock murmured.

            “I don’t have much of a choice, as you’ll see him for a good portion of every day anyways……..it would be ridiculous of me to say _‘no’_ ,” Magnus answered.  “He’s young and excitable, please keep that in mind.”

            “I apologize that I am imposing on you, but the council felt I’d be better off in your care,” Deadlock sighed.

            “It is all right.  And I apologize with my gruffness—this is something that I simply must get used to,” Magnus murmured, trying to give the former Decepticon a little smile.

            “Hey guys, time for chow!”  Hot Rod called, peering into the gather room.

            The three sat down at the table to eat.  Hot Rod chatted about his day at school and Magnus mentioned a thing or two about his own day at the Administrative Offices (mainly the general routine things, not the items that shouldn’t be shared……….nor the fact that he got his armour back).  Deadlock kind of watched with fascination, since this was something Decepticons _did not do_ on Fortress.   He ate slowly, however, because the high-grade Energon was a bit much—he didn’t want to wind up accidentally purging.

            “So……..you want racing stripes or something?”  Hot Rod asked of Deadlock, grinning broadly.  The youth’s field just rippled with a jumble of pleasant and positive feelings.

            “Somewhat like that, but not quite _striping_.  It’s………more _meditative_ in the patterns.  It’s rather religious,” Deadlock answered, softly.

            “Ah.  That’s one of the more forgotten sides of Megatronus’ teachings, is it not?”  Magnus said, curiously.  “Will your glyphs represent promises and desires?”

            “ _Yes_.  I simply must decide what my promises and desires are at this moment,” Deadlock responded.  “Despite the fact that the Decepticons stole Megatronus’ teachings and perverted a portion of our religions through the Pride of Megatronus cult…………..though it represents a darker side of religion, it is _not_ always _evil_ ,” he added, rubbing the back of his neck.

            “Good and evil have their meanings based on interpretation through history.  There may even be times when chaos and destruction are _welcome_ in a society,” Magnus said, firmly.  “Liege Maximo chose to use religion as a _weapon_.”

            “Even so,” Deadlock agreed.  “So, Hot Rod…….after the ache goes away, I’d like to go get some new glyphs and patterns done on my armour and frame.  Magnus said _you’d_ be the one to ask.”

            “I’ll give my tech a call and see if he can fit me in— _for you_ ,” the flame-colored mech responded with a huge grin.  “Aren’t you going to eat more?”  He asked when he noticed that Deadlock had barely touched the food and Energon.

            “I _will_.  I just can’t eat it fast……..this is far more than I’ve ever consumed at one time.  I want to _enjoy_ it,” Deadlock chuckled, smiling at Hot Rod.  “I’d hate to see it wasted if my tank processors can’t handle so much at one time.”

            “Okay,” Hot Rod said with a smile.  So, he just began talking on long-winded, weird, tangents—just to keep meal time going on for a longer amount of time, so Deadlock felt no pressure to hurry and finish his meal.

            As soon as Deadlock finished his food and Energon—it made him feel very full for the first time in his entire life.  He also felt rather sleepy, again.  So, Deadlock dismissed himself very politely to go and clean up before seeking recharge for the night.

            The large area of washracks in the washing room was nice to stand in.  It _wasn’t_ crowded, it _wasn’t_ small……….you could turn around and reach all your limbs freely.  As the water and solvents poured down on Deadlock from the shower-head, it felt like it was washing away some of the grit that might have lodged in his seams from the full frame overhaul.   The former Decepticon was a bit sleepy as he dried off in the standing area with a warm blower above him, but that was when he caught his reflection in the nearby large mirror.  It offered a full view of his entire body……so he _finally_ saw a complete view of his brand-new frame rebuild.

            Deadlock paused, a sense of awe slowly flooding all the way through him and leaking into his closely-held EM field.   He looked all _brand-new_ …….the grey dermal layer was still pretty much the same from his original frame, but the white of the new armour portions was so perfectly fitting to his frame.  The white looked so very……….. _pure_.

            A strangled, static buzz lodged in his vocalizer as he saw the one thing missing that had been on his chest ever since he’d been given chest-paneling…………

            _………….his Decepticon brand was gone._

            Deadlock’s emotions were turbulent………..a sense of ache and loss, because he’d been branded with that violet crowned-mask emblem for as long as he could ever remember.   Even though his original birth-brand was likely still on his protoform—where it would be forever until he was dust—the visual one on his chest was now gone.  And, besides the sense of loss…………he also felt a flood of joy deep within him, because he was finally _free_.

            **_He was free._**

**Author's Note:**

> Anytime I have Magnus sitting on the couch with a reader tablet...........I think of the stereotypical television dad reading the newspaper. XD


End file.
